


Birds, Plants, and External Screaming

by LunerSoul997



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birds, Bucky Barnes & Clint Barton Friendship, Bucky makes a friend, Bucky vibes with birds, Enhanced Animals, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Lucy the Budgie, Multi, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, POV Bucky Barnes, Plant mom bucky, Ravens, The Finches, and they vibe with him, basically we vibeing, bucky loves animals, definitely not my usual mo, eventual stucky ?, good vibes, implied animal death, now featuring Vibes Gone Wrong, spread the word, we'll see, wow I really shouldn't put those two so close together huh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23357212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunerSoul997/pseuds/LunerSoul997
Summary: Bucky sat on the island counter as the damp bird picked her way through a bowl of berries and tenderized mice."You need a name," he says, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov
Kudos: 11





	1. Strawberries

"She's a wild one," the dealer warns, crossing his arms.

"That ain't a deal-breaker."

The man grins, running his tongue along his teeth. "Don't underestimate her," he says, pulling up his shirt. "She gave me these the day I got her."

Angry red ropes of scar tissue wrap around the man's midsection, raised and irritated-looking.

Bucky hid his grimace. Those looked real nasty.

'Keep him on the line,' the voice in his ear encourages.

He smiles. "Sounds like my kind of gal."

The dealer shrugs. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he takes out a notepad. "She's seven large, eight if you want my boys to re-cage her."

Bucky nods, tossing over the bag. "Should be enough in there, I'm fine with the cage."

The dealer inclines his head as his goons tell him that it's all there. "She's all yours, man."

Bucky grins, slow and cold.

The dealer frowns at him.

The door blows down, and widow bites rain from the ceiling, magnetic cuffs latching onto the dealer's wrists. In less than ten seconds all of the criminals are restrained and/or incapacitated. Depending on how lucky they were.

"What the hell-"

Bucky de-activates his facial hologram, stepping over the dealer with a disapproving frown. "You know it's illegal to sell enhanced animals without a permit, right?"

The dealer gapes at him. "Why else would we be doin' it in an abandoned warehouse?"

Bucky inclines his head. "Good point," he says, looking up as the New SHIELD agents enter the room. "Take them away," he orders. "get them processed, get them detained, you know the drill."

The agents begin hulling the restrained criminals into the armoured trucks, trying to get their information while they're still in shock.

Natasha saunters up to him, a grin on her face, "How does it feel being a hero?" She asks.

Bucky huffs a laugh. "I ain't no hero just because I stopped some street-level dealers from selling glowing puppies," he says with a roll of his eyes.

Nat smacks his arm. "Hey, this was your idea," she reminds him. "You've saved a lot of animals today, be proud."

Bucky nods, looking towards the cargo truck that held said animals, contemplating.

They're all set to be sent to the rehabilitation facility upstate that had been personally assessed by Bucky himself and endorsed by The Avengers. It was a state of the art facility, with well-trained and monitored staff and humane housing. After they were rehabilitated, they would be adopted by caring families that had undergone background checks and psych evals, or sent to an animal sanctuary, depending on if they're a flying dog or a laser-eyed bear.

He'd put a lot of thought into this, had fought tooth and nail with Fury and the counsel of The Avengers about the rescue and protection of enhanced animals. He'd done well today, and a lot of bad men were going to jail, not to mention all of the animals they'd saved from said bad men.

The question is, why does it make him feel so... empty?

"Hey," Nat says, hand on his shoulder. "what's wrong?"

Bucky takes a deep breath, calming himself. "I'm not sure... just, something feels off about this."

Nat hums, squeezing his shoulder supportively.

And then Bucky is moving, hopping into the cargo truck with a single-minded determination.

"What are you doing?" Nat calls, rushing after him.

"I want to see what I was buying," he says mildly, crouching down next to the cage that held the animal he'd 'purchased'.

Tenderly, he lifts the cover, blinking in surprise at what he finds inside.

The raven is perched on a bar that'd been haphazardly welded in place, the floor of her cage was covered in filthy newspaper, and reeked of decay. Her eyes were full of intelligence and gazed at him with a strange mix of mistrust and tentative hope.

Nat frowns at the ragged-looking bird, her nose scrunching up at the smell. "I was thinking of something more along the lines of a lion," she comments, cocking her head. "Or a wolf..."

Bucky releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. "She's beautiful," he murmurs, looking up at Nat with absolute devotion in his eyes.

Nat grimaces. "You're not leaving without that thing, are you?"

"Not a chance."

###

Despite how adamant Bucky was that he kept the raven, they did have to be careful with her. If what the dealer said was true, she was a lot more dangerous than she looked.

Bucky had the agents carry her cage into his apartment, by now filled to the brim with plants. His finches fluttered around their cage, twittering at the action.

Bucky loved animals, always had, always would. But he'd always had a soft spot for birds.

After his conditioning was broken, the first thing he'd done was beg Steve to let him get a bird, even though the man wasn't the biggest fan. Eventually, Steve had caved, and taken him to the pet store to get all of the essentials for Bucky's new pet.

He'd done a lot of research beforehand and knew he wanted a budgie as his first-ever bird. He'd gotten Lucy a week later, a bit nervous that, despite all of his research, she'd get sick, or suffer malnutrition, or not have enough toys...

But Lucy settled in just fine, and three years later, she was still happily chirping away in her cage in the living room. After Lucy had come the finches, and after the finches, Clint had gotten Lucky. Steve finally drew the line when Bucky began talking about getting a dove.

Speaking of that dove, Steve was currently using it to bribe him out of his new raven, which, yeah, _not happening._

"She's staying, Steve," Bucky says calmly as he waters his Ivy.

Steve sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Buck, where are you going to keep her? You can't just leave her in that cage," He says, gesturing to said cage. "It smells awful, and it's tiny. You don't have any empty cages for her, so where's she staying? Do you even have food for her?"

Bucky glares at him. "Do I look like an idiot, Rogers?" He asks, bringing his watering can close to his chest. "I had Jarvis order a cage with overnight shipping, I looked up what to feed her, and I already have all of her perches and toys in transit." He looks Steve directly in the eyes. "She's staying."

Steve deflates with a sigh, seemingly realizing that there would be no arguing with him. "Fine. She stays," he grumbles, working his jaw and striding out of the room. Bucky's just glad he didn't slam the door. That always upset Lucy.

An inquisitive caw has him turning to the Tower's newest resident. Bucky smiles. "Don't worry about Steve, once you're settled, he'll warm up to you."

The raven ruffles her feathers, looking uncertain. She didn't look dangerous, more... Sad, he'd say. Sad and tired.

Bucky stepped off of the stepladder, putting down his watering can. "No, really, he's a sweetheart. He just needs to get to know you," he insists, walking over to the cage and kneeling in front of it. "Hell, the first thing he and Tony did was fight, and now they're besties." he shrugs in a 'what can you do' sort of way, grinning.

"Now," he sighs, scratching the back of his neck. "How do you feel about a bath?"

The raven cocks her head, cawing and ruffling her grimy feathers.

Bucky hums. "I'll take that as a yes."

Once he had the mesh over the sink and the shower attachment on the tap, he went back over to the raven.

"You've gotta promise me you're not going to freak out, okay? I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want you to hurt me, so... truce?" He says awkwardly, hoping the bird was as smart as she looked.

She proved him right when she nods, cawing softly.

Bucky nods back, unlatching the cage door and stepping back.

The raven tentatively hops off of her bar and onto the hardwood floor of the apartment.

She looks up to him, cocking her head.

"Uh, do want a lift?" Bucky tries, holding out his flesh arm -since his metal one wouldn't have enough grip without his glove.

She flutters over, settling herself on Bucky's arm as though she were born to perch on it.

Bucky walked her over to the sink. He turned the water on, warm enough to be comfortable, and allowed her to 'go ham', so to speak.

She cawed happily, flinging water every which way, rustling her feathers.

Bucky smiled at the sight. She was a very pretty bird underneath all that grime, with sleek black feathers, a brilliant white stripe across her shoulders, and her captivating brown eyes that held far more intelligence than they rightly should.

He shook his head, getting to work on preparing her dinner.

An hour later, Bucky sat on the island counter as the damp bird picked her way through a bowl of berries and tenderized mice.

"You need a name," he says, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

The raven looks up at him, cocking her head.

Bucky frowns, pulling out his phone. He began scrolling through his messages, thinking. "How about... Emily?" He tries, looking up at her. He feels like he's forgotten something... Oh shit! Tonight is movie night. Fuck.

The raven cawed angrily, beating her wings.

Bucky hums. "Yeah, I don't like it either," he says, sending a quick text to Thor, letting him know that he wouldn't be up for movie night. "How do you feel about Brenna?"

The raven gives him a flat look, then goes back to eating her meal.

"Damn, must be bad if you won't even look at me," he muses, taking the feedback for what it was. "How about... Mabel?"

The raven continued ignoring him.

"No dice, eh? Hmm." He checked his phone and paused. Thor was trying to convince him to come up since they were meant to be watching Frozen 2 tonight, and Bucky had enjoyed the first one.

Bucky blinked, looking up at the raven, a sudden idea forming. "What about Sven?" He tried.

The raven froze, looking up from her food to look at him. She puffed up, clicking her beak delightedly.

Bucky nods. "Sven?"

The raven nods enthusiastically, cawing loudly, and flying over to him so she could bump her head against his cheek.

Bucky chuckles. "Sven it is."

###

The next day, Sven's stuff arrives. After much trial and error, Bucky has the cage constructed and decorated, up to and including the nameplate he'd had Jarvis order just because he could.

"What do you think?" He asks the bird on his shoulder, standing back.

The cage was about seven feet tall and four feet wide, and it fits nicely into the corner of the room. It was painted black and had a bronze nameplate on the top of the cage. All in all, the perfect domain for a raven.

Sven grumbles contemplatively, cocking her head.

Bucky shifts, frowning. "We can get you more stuff, of course, and we'll set up a way for you to get in and out on your own," he says, walking closer to it to make sure the sawdust at the bottom was evenly dispersed.

Sven bumps her head against his cheek, thrilling.

Bucky relaxes. She liked it. "Thank god, because I spent _a lot_ of money on this, which," he laughs, offering his forearm for Sven to perch on, "don't tell my friends, because they will _not_ be impressed."

She nods resolutely, her tail twitching.

It's weird, Bucky's never bonded with a bird this quickly, or had one bond with him after only a day. It could be the fact that Sven was enhanced, and she had shown above-average intelligence for a bird (raven or not, understanding human speech is just not normal).

For now, Bucky was content to just leave it at that, his new bird was enhanced, and therefore very smart.

Bucky smiles, bringing his arm level with his face, "Are you feeling up to eating breakfast with my friends? I'll let you eat my strawberries," he promises.

Sven nods, ruffling her feathers excitedly.

Bucky felt like this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

And after a very hectic breakfast where Sven had eaten his strawberries, then stole Clint's, Bruce's, and even _Natasha's_ –the bird had balls, that's for sure– Bucky could tell that Steve was already warming up to her. The softie.


	2. Blueberries

Tug. Tug.

Bucky sighs and flips the page of his book.

Tug. Tug. _Tug._

"Can I help you?" Bucky drawls. There was one last tug on his hair before a dull beak pecked his temple.

Sven caws loudly in his ear before fluttering down to the armrest. She flaps her wings and clicks her beak, trying to communicate some sort of cryptic message.

Bucky, of course, knows exactly what she wants. So, with a heavy sigh, he sands up, walks all the way over to the fridge, and pours her a bowl of frozen blueberries. Because she's spoiled and he's a sucker.

She chortles at him, annoyed that he had taken so long.

He doesn't know why cats and birds are enemies, because they're the same kind of people. He supposes it's actually a good thing, becuase If cats and birds ever teamed up, they'd take over the world.

Having satisfied his avian overlord, he returns to his couch, fully intending on finishing his book today.

That is, of course, the moment when his phone blares and flashes the Avengers logo on its screen.

He allows himself a moment of silence for his lost Friday afternoon before running to the elevator.

***

The impact knocks his breath out. He wheezes, rolling on to his side. He looks up just in time to see Thor smash the evil android to bits.

"Are you alright, Wolf?" Thor asks. "That looked like quite the blow."

"I'm fine," Bucky gasps. How is it that they always miss one? They should be better than that by now. "The only thing wounded is my pride."

Thor grins, holding out an arm. Bucky grabs hold of it and lets the god pull him to his feet and dust him off. 

"I'll meet you back at the tower," Bucky sighs, cracking his neck. "I need a latte."

"Very well," Thor says, clapping him on the shoulder. He bounds away, calling over his shoulder, "Purchase me a pastry!"

"Purchase your own damn pastry!" 

Thor simply shoots him a grin, and Bucky grumbles because he knows for a fact that he'll be the one who purchases the pastry. Because he's a sucker and that doesn't just extend to his raven.

Bucky finds himself walking through alleyway after alleyway, looking for some sort of café. Or rather, looking for a café that wasn't A) damaged/destroyed in the fight and that would B) serve a guy who was currently carrying more than one firearm. Because Brooklyn just ain't what it used to be.

Something tickles him wrong, urges him to stop. He slows his pace and looks around with a furrowed brow. It takes him a minute to figure out what, but once he does, he's glad that he _had_ stopped.

A meow. Pitiful and weak. 

He's never moved so quickly in his life.

In less than thirty seconds, he's found the source of the sound and dug through stacks of trash bags and cardboard. Before he even realizes it, he's holding a tiny kitten to his chest, carefully rubbing it to warm it up.

He blinks down at the scrap of fur in his arms. It was a filthy little thing, barely clinging to life. He looks into the box he found it in. By the scent, It's clear that this kitten is the only survivor. The box had been taped shut, air holes poked into its sides.

He allows himself a moment of rage. A moment of pure _loathing_ towards the kind of person that would leave a box full of kittens in the cold to starve. To starve, because they had taken the time to punch fucking _air holes._

Standing, cradling the tiny thing in his arms. He unzips his jacket and slips it off before carefully wrapping it around the kitten. With the bundle of kitten held to his chest, he _runs._

***

How he got home is a blur. _Everything_ after finding the kitten is a blur, honestly. 

He knows that he had gotten home somehow, someway. He knows he must have gotten kitten formula from somewhere. Knows he must have washed the kitten. 

The _how_ he did any of that is what he's stuck on. All he knows is that it must have happened because here he was, sitting on his bed at home, holding a tiny white kitten that was greedily drinking formula from a small tube-thing. 

He carefully adjusts them so that he can hold the kitten with only one arm. He drags his laptop over and begins gathering intelligence.

###

Somehow, he manages to keep the kitten alive and relatively hidden. 

He often finds himself sitting next to his bed and just watching the little thing bumble around. He watches her in awe, watches the tiny, pathetic thing he'd found in a back alley grow bigger and stronger every day.

Sometimes, the kitten would call out to him, and he would lay his flesh arm on the bed and let her cuddle up against it.

He would feed her the formula, and tiny, needle-sharp claws would knead his flesh and she would purr like crazy. And even when Bucky was having holes punched into by the tiny hell-beast he still (God help him) found the thing adorable. 

"You need a name," Bucky said one day, stroking feather-light fingers down the kitten's back while she snacked on the strings of Bucky's hoodie. "I hope you're okay with me just picking one that sounds nice because unlike Sven, I can't understand you."

The kitten purrs, digging her claws into Bucky's shoulder. 

"Very good, ma'am," he says with a nod. Bringing his laptop closer, he begins Googleing. (The reactions the others have are one hundred percent worth calling it that. The loading speed and gross user interface, a mild inconvenience, at worst. The way the life drains from their eyes when they realize he uses Bing, priceless.)

After getting sidetracked a few times, accidentally making an entire Pinterest board dedicated to cute cats, and more bad cat names than he can remember, Bucky eventually finds one that he finds both tolerable and fitting.

"Alpine," Bucky says, trying it out. The kitten mews, pawing at Bucky's face from her perch atop his shoulder. Bucky smiles wryly. "I'm oh so glad you like it."

###

It was only a matter of time, Bucky supposes.

Still, he'd rather it have been on his own terms.

In front of him stands two animals. A hissing kitten with an arched back and puffed up fur, and an indignant raven with raised wings and betrayed eyes.

"Okay," Bucky huffs, scooping Alpine into his arms before either animal could attack. She latches her claws into him, but he ignores it. "Please don't fight with the child, Sven,"

Sven caws, sounding thoroughly offended.

Bucky rolls his eyes, scratching behind the ears of the still-growling Alpine. "Please, you're, like, ten times bigger than her. At least."

Sven clacks her beak angrily at him before taking off in a flurry of feathers. 

He sighs, kissing a very grumpy Alpine on her little head. 

###

"So," Bucky says, holding Alpine in one arm and Sven in the other. The animals glare at each other. "It's become clear to me that you two will only come to tolerate each other through prolonged exposure."

Sven screeched, clawing at his stomach with her talons. Alpine hissed, clawing at the raven.

"See? This just isn't sustainable." He sighs, shaking his head. "My poor, stress-prone brain won't allow it."

He sat down on the couch and folded his legs up. "Jarvis, could you put on some soothing music, please?"

"Certainly, Sargent Barnes."

Soft guitar music begins playing from the speakers, in contrast to the hissing and cawing coming from either side of him.

Bucky takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out from his nose. "Just feel the vibe."

Alpine screeches, her tiny, needle-sharp claws digging into his flesh and creating small rivets of blood.

"Deep breaths," Bucky says. "In... And out..."

Sven pecks at the plates of his arm, her body struggling to free itself so that she could bodyslam the kitten currently squirming around in his flesh arm.

"The vibe..." Bucky breathes. "Is clearly not strong enough. Jarvis, add windchimes."

***

He wipes the blood from his stomach and arm with a washcloth. Sven savagely claws at the door to his bedroom while Alpine wails inside.

He huffs. "Way to harsh my vibe, assholes!" 

Sven clacks her beak before attacking his door once more, flapping her wings in anger.

Lucy chirps angrily from inside her cage, and his owl finches (Edith, Atticus, and Adam) flutter about their cage making all kinds of unhappy noises, riled up by Sven's hooting and hollering.

"You've upset your friends," Bucky exclaimed, throwing an arm out to indicate the other birds.

Sven caws loudly at him, whirling around to face him, feathers puffed up and eyes dripping with fury.

Bucky snaps his fingers warning. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice, woman."

###

"I HAVE COME BEARING MEAD!"

"JESUS!" 

_THUNK_

"James, are you alright?" Thor asks, picking him up off of the floor. Sven caws irritably from her cage, woken from her slumber.

Bucky holds a hand to his heart, pinning Thor with a glare. Thor, who apparently had never learned how to knock. "Warn a guy!"

"I think you spooked him," Clint said, perching on the back of Bucky's couch.

"It would appear so, Barton," Thor said gravely, brushing invisible dust from Bucky's shoulders.

Bucky rolls his eyes, returning to where he'd been sitting prior to his impromptu trip to the floor. "I hate you."

"Which one?" Clint asked cheekily.

"Both– but mostly you, thinking about it."

Clint gasps, bringing a hand up to shield his heart. "Oh! My _feelings,_ how they _ache!"_

Bucky nods. "And this is exactly why."

Clint huffed. "I'll have you know that I am an absolute _treasure_ and you're lucky to have me!"

"Sure, Clint."

"Why I oughta–" Clint shook his fist at him.

"A duel would be a most effective way of settling this," Thor said thoughtfully.

Bucky groaned, throwing his head back. "Exercise. Gross."

Thor frowned, his expression not unlike that of a confused puppy. "But, James, do you not run with Steven every morning? And you often spar with Natasha?"

Clint shook his head fondly. "He's joking, Thor."

"Ahh," Said Thor, bobbing his head. "I see."

Bucky smirked, drawing himself up and eyeing Thor. "You said something about mead?"

Thor grinned.

***

"Don't. Eat. My. _Fucking_ aloe."

"But it's so _squishy,"_ Clint countered, squishing an aloe leaf between his fingers. "Doot doot doot– look at it squish!"

Bucky scowled.

"Perhaps," Thor began, crossing his legs, "we shouldn't have given him a sip of the mead."

"What makes you think that?" Bucky asked sarcastically. Clint slid down the wall he'd been leaning on and jerkily rolled over to them, hitting his head on the coffee table and muttering a soft 'ow'.

Thor shifted in his seat, directing his eyes up and away from the archer. "Just a feeling."

Bucky glares at the side of the god's face, even though he found all of this objectively hilarious and was subtly recording it on his phone for blackmail material. A nifty backup plan he'd picked up from Natalia.

The mead seemed to be affecting Clint more like a recreational drug than an alcohol, something which he's sure Bruce will be interested in hearing. He makes a mental note to bring it up with him later.

"I love squish," Clint declared, his voice muffled by the rug.

That was the moment Alpine decided to start screaming from his bedroom.

Thor frowned. "What was that?"

But Bucky was already on his feet and moving. Hand on the knob, he impulsively called over his shoulder: "Microwave!"

"In your bedroom?"

"It's called _convenience,_ Thor!" He hissed, slamming the door shut.

He turned to the kitten, no longer so tiny. She was 3.5 pounds and had been weaned weeks ago. Now, she spent most of her day tearing up the apartment while Sven brooded in her cage, refusing to acknowledge the feline.

She meowed at him, climbing up his pant leg, then his shirt, until she arrived at his shoulder, where she curled up and purred.

Bucky chucked. He removed her from his shirt, which she protested with an indignant squeak. He placed her on his bed and held a finger to his lips, which she flicked her tail at.

He shrugged, made sure she had food and water, and opened the door. He took a step over the threshold and a white blur darted between his legs.

His eyes widened and he ran after the blur with a hissed 'Alpine!'

He found her attacking Thor's boot, much to the amusement of the god. 

"Hello, young one," said Thor, picking the kitten up. She thrilled inquisitively, craning her head to get a good look at the blond. Thor turned sly eyes to Bucky, frozen halfway through a step. "A new pet, James?"

Bucky scowled, putting his foot down (literally). "Eat me."

Thor's smirk grew into a grin. "Steven will be delighted to hear the news, I'm sure."

"If you tell Steve," Bucky began, stalking forward.

Thor rolled his eyes. "No, of course not. I simply intend to watch the lengths you go to hide it." His grin was wide and anticipating. "This planet often lacks good entertainment."

For all that he was a bumbling idiot anywhere outside of battle, Bucky often forgot how conniving Thor was beneath his loveable dumbass exterior. A consequence of growing up with Loki, Bucky suspects.

Bucky sighed, flopping back down onto the couch. "I hate you."

"Like you hate exercise," Thor said with a nod.

Bucky glared, and Thor smiled his big dumb smile.

Clint propped his head atop Thor's thigh and eyed Alpine with awe. Bucky took out his phone once more, sensing something magical about to happen.

"A baby!" He cooed, gently taking Alpine in his own arms and stroking her ears. She purred, leaning into the open affection despite having just met Clint. "Little baby child, precious little been. Awoo, awoo, yis, yis, yis," 

Bucky somehow managed to both smile and grimace at the same time. The dopey smile on Clint's face mixed with the horrendous baby talk made for a sight that was both adorable and unsettling.

"Who'z a kute kat, you are? Pretty kitty-kat, yis, smol baby,"

Thor watched Clint with no small amount of wonder. "How much affection he manages to convey in so few words is truly inspireing."

"That's one way to put it," Bucky murmured, simultaneously hoping for and dreading Thor trying to speak to Jane like that. Hoping for being in the same room, dreading missing it.

"Do you think Steven will have a similar reaction?"

"Oh my God. _Shut your whore mouth, Thor."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be honest, none of you saw this coming. 
> 
> Hell, _I_ didn't see this coming. 
> 
> And yet here we are...


End file.
